Tuesday

December 26th, 1980, the Rendlesham Forest Incident, also known as “Britain’s Roswell.”

Lt. Col. Charles Halt stated, around 3:00am on the 26th of
December, strange lights were reported by a security patrol near the
East Gate of RAF Woodbridge apparently descending into nearby Rendlesham
Forest. Servicemen initially thought it was a downed aircraft, but after
entering the forest to investigate they saw, according to Halt’s memo, a
strange glowing object with a metallic appearance and colored lights. As
they approached, the UFO moved through the trees, and “the animals on a
nearby farm went into a frenzy.” The craft left three impressions or
depressions on the ground that were visible the next day. One of the
servicemen, Sgt. Jim Penniston, later claimed to have encountered a
“craft of unknown origin” and to have made detailed notes of its
features, touched its “warm” surface, and copied the numerous symbols on
its body. The object allegedly flew away after their brief encounter.
Penniston also claimed to have seen triangular landing gear on the
object. [ref. Files Mufon.com]

Don't believe in curses? How about this one, on this day in 1919, Harry Frazee, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, sells Babe Ruth -- a great ball-player who drank a lot of beer, smoked cigars, and ran around the bases in 20 pound shoes the size of barbells -- to the New York Yankees. Frazee, sounding like a modern-day Jerry Jones explained the sell of the greatest hitter in baseball by saying, "While Ruth is undoubtedly the greatest hitter the game has ever seen, he is likewise one of the most selfish and inconsiderate men ever to put on a baseball uniform. Had he possessed the right disposition, had he been willing to take orders and work for the good of the club like the other men on the team, I never would have dared let him go."

Sultan of Swat

The Sultan of Swat, as Ruth came to be called, immediately called foul on his old boss. "If not for Frazee, I would be content to play with the Red Sox to the end of my baseball days. Frazee sold me because he was unwilling to meet my (salary) demands, and to alibi himself with the fans, he is trying to throw the blame on me."

The Red Sox owner had said at the time of the sale that the Yankees were taking a big gamble in paying such a steep price for Ruth. But the risk paid off splendidly with seven pennants and four World Series titles during Babe Ruth's 14-year tenure with the team. Meanwhile, the Sox finished dead last in 9 of the next 11 seasons and Boston would not win another Championship until 2004. The curse became known as the Bambino Curse.

On this day in 1786, Daniel Shay led a group of American Revolutionary War veterans in a rebellion that would become known as The Shay Rebellion, which was a rebellion in Massachusetts to protest a tax increase to pay off war debts. Those who couldn't pay were evicted from their property or sent to prison.

In 1971 on this day, fifteen Vietnam War veterans seized control of the Statue of Liberty to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam; this rebellion would be called the.... well, by this time the press lost interest and so this is probably the first you heard about this, for as we know, it was only the hippies and Jane Fonda who protested the war, right(?)

Boxing Day is observed in Canada, the United Kingdom, and many other countries. The name comes from the old custom of servants and other functionaries carrying boxes for Christmas gratuities or bonuses.

Kwanzaa, or "first fruit," a modern, seven-day-long celebration by African-American families of their heritage and ancestry, begins today.